617 The Only King(Part One)
When Lawrence woke up in a dark room, the first thing he noticed was that his head was pounding. His body hurt all over, especially in his leg. When he tried to move his hand to check it, Lawrence realized that he had been restrained by metal cuffs..
“Good morning, my dear little brother. How was your rest?”
Lawrence’s heart sank at the familiar sound of Marco’s voice. The room was completely dark, so he couldn’t see him, but his malicious intent was obvious. Right as he was about to demand an explanation, the memories of his capture came flooding back..
After Stein had let his arm drop, the dead had rushed them like a river of rabid animals. They clawed and ripped into his men like they were nothing more than wet paper, and decimated their group within minutes. They had spent hours chipping away at their numbers, and it had made absolutely no difference.
“How does it feel to know that you basically had your best mages brutally slaughtered, just to come back into my kingdom? I mean, I sacrifice people all the time, so it’s not a thing to me. But I am genuinely curious: how does it feel when you actually care about them?”
Lawrence felt dizzy and disoriented as his brother continued to taunt him; “I mean, wasn’t that big guy a friend of yours? From what I remember, he’s a relative of your dead wife, right? And the General of your mages..”
Marco barked a sharp laugh; “How dumb was That?! Did you even appoint someone to take over for him before you ran off like a child? ...Ahh, Lawrence.. Always leaping before you look. That’s why you’re in this situation.”
“And what situation am I in, exactly?” Lawrence asked gruffly.
Marco flicked on a light switch; “A dire one, to say the least. But it doesn’t matter. Once you’ve had your treatment, you’ll happily do whatever I say afterwards.”
“Treatment?! What fucking treatment?”
.....
Marco stared at him blankly; “You’ll see. It’s different from what I had my guards go through. But to be honest, I wanted their personalities kept intact. Yours, however, I’ve always found quite annoying. Not as much as Tidas, but enough..”
Marco harshly patted his brother’s shoulder; “To be honest, I’ve found this entire family to be nothing but a hassle. But a King can’t really say that out loud, can he? Not without people taking it wrong.”
“How are they supposed to take it?”
Marco nodded; “I suppose you make a good point.. Maybe I won’t wipe you, just take you down to a five year old level. You weren’t so bad at that age.”
Lawrence glanced up at his older brother; “Did you ever care about any of us?”
Marco shrugged; “I guess when I was little, I did. To be honest, you were the one I was closest to. I tried to be like everyone else, but I’m not. I wasn’t meant to be like everyone else.. So why would a bird swim with a fish when he could be soaring in the sky?”
When he’d finished speaking, a wide evil grin stretched across his face; “Come now, Law! I know it’s sad that Father had to die, but isn’t it exciting?! I’m finally King! The entire world is about to change, and you will be with me! Well, at least for now..”
Lawrence had only been half-listening to his brother’s ravings as he tried to figure out where he was, and how he’d gotten there. The last thing he recalled was being swarmed by the dead army. The more he focused on it, the clearer the memories became.
First thing Lawrence recalled was the smell, which nearly made him gag on the spot. The next was the carnage that he’d seen..
People he’d known for years were torn apart right before his eyes. Flesh tore like paper, and bones were crushed like twigs. It was the most horrific thing he had ever seen. The worst part was when his men had tried to protect him.
Anton’s expression as he was ripped open replayed in Lawrence’s mind as Marco continued rambling. It was only when he’d heard his children mentioned did he snap out of his haze. In a sudden rush of anger, Lawrence tried to lunge at his brother, only to be restrained by the shackles around his wrists and feet.
Marco didn’t even flinch as he continued on about his plans for Alcon; “Come now, Lawrence. I have to involve your children, since you fled with them. Although I doubt it was your idea.. I bet Shasta was the one to convince you, right?”
When he didn’t answer, Marco waved him off; “That’s fine, I don’t need an actual answer. I already know your limitations, so it’s not hard to deduce. I never thought much of her before, at least when it came to intelligence. However, I will admit that your wife’s willpower is much stronger than I gave her credit for.”
Seeing murderous intent reflecting in his brother’s eyes, Marco smirked as he added; “What? You didn’t think I’d just leave her in a cell, and forget about he, did you? Oh, my dear little brother..”
Marco leaned down to be level with Lawrence; “Putting clothes on an animal doesn’t make them a person.. She has to be properly trained-”
“If you’ve hurt her, I’ll kill you..”
Marco barked a sharp laugh as he stood up; “Oh really? How? With what army? Have you not put two and two together yet? I own your Senate. So I own your army, and every other person in your kingdom because of it.”
After extending his arms with a flourish, Marco continued; “Aren’t I a genius?! One kingdom down, and I didn’t even need to involve any of my armies. Come now, Law! As much as you must hate me, you have to admit that I am brilliant.”
As Marco preened, he waited for his brother to either lash out, or break down. He was hoping for the latter, since it would make things easier if Lawrence just broke now. But as he expected, his brother wasn’t going to make it simple..
A small, strangled laugh escaped his throat before Lawrence spoke; “If you think my people will Ever allow a foreign ruler to control them, then you don’t know anything about them. But you are right about one thing: I do hate you. I never did before, but since you took my Father’s life, I will Never forgive you. And I will NEVER join you.”
Marco smirked; “So I was forgivable until I killed Father? Oh my sweet, na?ve little brother..”
Squatting down to his level again, Marco added in an unnerving tone; “Don’t you know that killing Father was the most merciful thing I’ve done?”
Lawrence couldn’t stop a confused scowl from covering his face at Marco’s words. The idea that murdering their father was the least atrocious thing he’d done made his skin crawl, and his senses peak.. ‘What kind of a monster am I dealing with?!’
With a half-huff, half-laugh, Marco straightened up and continued; “Tell me something Lawrence–You saw my dead army: where do you think they all came from? Graves can only supply so many fresh corpses. So where did the others come from?”
Marco enjoyed watching the confusion spread across his face for a few moments before he’d answered for him; “Remember our little brother’s brave crusade against the slave trade? The Highlander massacres in the north? All me..”
“I got money and bodies from the slavers. Favors and support from lords to break apart lands after problematic families were slaughtered ‘by Nomad raiders from the Highlands’. Although those required some work-arounds, thanks to our ever-meddlesome brother. Father wasn’t as big of a fool as I made him seem..”
“What the hell does that mean?” Lawrence barked as he fidgeted with his cuffs.
“You didn’t know? I’ve been manipulating Father with my magic this whole time. Since I was around...ten, I think? Whenever I had him kill the Warricks. It’s been so many years. It’s hard to keep track of the trivial details.”
“Trivial details?! The people you’ve killed are just trivial details to you?! What the fuck is Wrong with you?!” Lawrence yelled, completely astounded by his brother’s confessions.
Marco grinned; “Well, when you’ve killed as many as I have, the only ones that stick out are the important ones. The masses don’t matter once the count gets that high.”
Lawrence stared at Marco, completely shocked at the person before him. The man was not his brother, but a monster in human skin. As the gravity of who Marco really was sank in, he walked over to the door, and spoke in a hushed voice with the guard posted outside.
After a moment, he walked off while Marco closed the door, then turned back towards Lawrence; “As much as I’d love to stay, I have pressing matters to attend to. I have a coronation to plan, and a kingdom to whip into a frenzy before our dear little brother returns with my prize. But I promise you won’t be lonely.”
Right as Marco had finished speaking, the door opened, and a familiar man entered the room. He wore a leather mask to cover his face, but Lawrence had instantly known who he was..
“So you plan to torture me to get me to side with you? Ha! You might as well kill me right now.”
“Oh Lawrence....Whoever said I wanted you to agree to join me? That’s not why he’s here,” Marco replied with a snide grin.
“Then why? No matter what you do, I won’t betray my kingdom and family.”
Marco smiled a final time, then headed towards the door as the other man started to set out ‘his tools’. Blades of various sizes, packets of powders, pliers, and other various tools and things that made Lawrence want to pass out. As he arranged things to his liking, Marco turned back to his brother a final time, still smiling.
“Oh, you’ll do anything I tell you to, once I’m done. But that comes later.. I don’t need you to agree with me, Lawrence. I just need you to break..”
Without another world, Marco walked out, and headed off towards another cell. By the time he’d reached the door, Lawrence’s agonizing screams were just starting to fill the hallway. Marco smirked to himself before sliding the viewing port on the dungeon door back, then peaked inside.
“Have you reconsidered my offer? This will be the last time I offer, Lord Moonstone..”
Lucas sat up from his disheveled cot, and grinned at Marco as he replied; “The long answer be: I’d rather be strung up by me toes and sliced open, than betray Tidas and my daughter. So, in short, ye can go fuck yer self.”
Marco grinned darkly; “I was hoping you’d say something like that. Very well, then. I’ll set a date for your execution.”
With that confirmation, Marco shut the viewing post, and walked away with a massive smile on his face.. ‘Just a little longer, and I’ll have everything ready.. Just wait, my little thing..’
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